Human T Cell Leukemia Virus Type 1 (HTLV-1) Antibodies in Healthy Populations and Renal Transplanted Patients in the North-East of Brazil

The seroprevalence of human T cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infection was investigated in Brazilians (570): native inhabitants (298) and descendants from Japanese (272) living in Recife and its neighborhoods—North-east of Brazil. Furthermore, polytransfused renal transplanted patients (54) were also examined for the serological status to this virus. The seropositivity to HTLV-1, screened by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), was low: 1.34% for the local population and 0.73% for the descendants from Japanese. However, the seropositivity for the renal transplanted patients was found to be 11.1%. This higher value suggests that this retrovirus infection seems to be of importance in this clinical condition.     

Production of mouse monoclonal antibodies using a continuous cell culture fermenter and protein G affinity chromatography

The production of anti--fetoprotein monoclonal antibodies for diagnostic use was carried out in a stirred tank fermenter equipped with a double membrane stirrer for bubble free aeration and continuous medium perfusion. A serum-free medium supplemented with 4 mM L-glutamine and 2.0 g/l glucose with a protein content of only 780 g/ml was used for the production process. The harvested antibodies were concentrated 50-fold using a tangential ultrafiltration system and were then purified in a one step purification process by protein G affinity chromatography. The purity of the final product (90%) was controlled by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, gel exclusion chromatography and isoelectric focussing. For further quality controls of the product the immunoglobulin subclass and the isoelectric point were determined and the specificity of the purified mAb was tested by RIA using¹²⁵I labelled -fetoprotein.1.87 g of purified monoclonal antibodies were produced (90% purity) within 2 weeks. It was found that the use of this type of stirred tank fermenter combined with a one step purification process using protein G affinity chromatography represents a suitable method for the fast production of medium scale quantities (500 mg–5 g) of monoclonal antibodies for diagnostic use.Abbreviations AFP -Fetoprotein - BSA bovine serum albumine - FCS Fetal calf serum - HRP horseradish peroxidase - OPD o-phenylenediamine dihydrochloride - I.P. isoelectric point - IEF isoelectric focussing - PBS Phosphate buffered saline     

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of antisperm antibodies in horse serum

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed and evaluated to detect equine antisperm antibodies (ASA) in horse serum. Six maiden mares between 12 and 18 mo of age were immunized with stallion sperm cells (SC group, N=2), seminal plasma (SP group, N=2), or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) as a control (C group, N=2). Horses received a second injection of the same antigen 2 wk after the first. Blood was collected weekly for 10 wk after initial immunization and again at Week 15. Serum ASA levels (IgG and IgA) were measured by ELISA using two assay systems, one containing stallion SC as the plate antigen and another containing SP.

In horses immunized with SC, peak IgG levels were detected by ELISA during Wk 2 and 3 after first injection using either plate antigen. The antibody levels persisted through Week 5 and then slowly declined until Week 15. Horses immunized with SP had IgG levels that did not differ from control horses using either ELISA plate antigen. The only significant elevation in serum IgA ASA occured during Week 5 after initial immunization and only in mares immunized with SC as detected by ELISA using SC as the plate antigen. Attachment of ASA to stallion spermatozoa was confirmed by an indirect immunofluorescence assay.     

Structural difference between polymerized and non-polymerized fragment X, obtained by plasmin digest of fibrinogen

Fragment X (LMrFX) was obtained as low molecular weight preparations from a late stage 2 plasmin digest of human fibrinogen. The thrombin-treated LMrFX preparations, which resulted in impaired polymerization, were further subfractionated into polymerized and non-polymerized components. The fractions were examined by SDS-PAGE and immunochemical methods. In polymerized fractions, more peptide bands were observed on SDS-PAGE in the reduced state than in non-polymerized fractions. Both fractions contained a similar number of internal cleavages in the A, Bβ and γ chains, which are linked by disulfide bonds. Thus, the partial deficiencies in polymerization sites of the carboxy terminal region of the γ chain and the amino terminal portions of the Bβ chain, as well as internal cleavage, were considered to participate in the impairment of the thrombin-induced polymerization of LMrFX.     

Monoclonal antibodies and idiotypic network activation for ovarian carcinoma

Antibodies can be processed by the B- and T-cell systems and may lead to a selective activation of the immune system. The network structure of the immune system implicates the possibility of a selective immunization by the activation of idiotypic cascades. In a retrospective analysis, patients with advanced ovarian carcinoma, who had received MAb, against the cancer-associated antigen CA125 for diagnostic purposes, were analyzed for the production of anti-idiotypic antibodies, survival rate, and immunological effects. Furthermore, we started a prospective and randomized study for ovarian cancer patients, using a different antigen, TAG72, for the induction of idiotypic cascades. Our first results on 58 patients with advanced ovarian carcinomas showed that the induction of anti-idiotypic-antibodies against OC125 mimicking the TAA Class III CA125 leads to a prolongation of the survival rate, and, in extended stages, to an induction of antitumoral immunity, and that the induction of idiotypic cascades is also possible for different antigens like TAG72. Summarizing the activation of idio-typic network cascades seems to be a very effective way of intervention in the immune system of patients with advanced stages of ovarian carcinoma. A prospective study of the adjuvant approach seems to be necessary.     

Characterisation of a 34 kD protein from potato cyst nematodes, using monoclonal antibodies with potential for species diagnosis

Two monoclonal antibodies, which differentially recognise the two species of potato cyst nematodes (PCN), Globodera pallida and G. rostochiensis, are described. They have been shown to have potential for quantification of these two species, recognising proteins of the same molecular weight (34 kD) in both species. Further investigation showed these proteins to have isoelectric points at pH values of 5.7 in G. pallida and 5.9 in G. rostochiensis, in common with the proteins used by Fleming & Marks (1983) to differentiate the species of PCN. They are likely to be structurally very similar, with the same physiological function (and therefore similar concentrations) in the two species. In cross-reactivity tests with a wide range of soil nematode species, the antibodies reacted strongly only with species of the genus Globodera, and thereby confirmed their potential as the basis of a quantitative immunoassay likely to be useful in management of PCN populations.     

Molecular integrity of monoclonal antibodies produced by hybridoma cells in batch culture and in continuous-flow culture with integrated product recovery

The molecular integrity of monoclonal antibodies (MCAB) produced by murine hybridoma cell line TB/C3 was studied in batch and continuous-flow cultures. In batch culture, one band of MCAB was detected initially by Western blotting of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gels run under unreduced conditions, but heterogenous MCAB bands appeared as the culture aged. The latter were due to the degradation of MCAB by proteases active at the neutral pH of the culture. The deleterious effect of proteases was minimized in the continuous-flow cultures which were integrated for product recovery. The MCAB of high quality was purified over 26 days from a culture grown at a dilution rate of 0.025 h(-1) (experiment 1). However, at a lower dilution rate of 0.015 h(-1) (experiment 2), the integrity of MCAB was compromised after the initial 13 days of culture. This was shown to be due to the variation in the carbohydrate content of MCAB produced, as judged by the increased sialylation of heavy chains and the varied reactivity of MCAB with lectins (Maackia amurensis agglutinin, Galanthus nivalis agglutinin, and Datura stramonium agglutinin) as the age of the culture increased. The concentration of the purified MCAB samples by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (used normally) was usually higher than that estimated by absorbance at 280 nm. Best correlation between the two methods (ELISA-280 nm ratio of 1.02-1.25) was obtained with experiment 1 samples. This ratio increased in experiment 2 and batch culture samples as the heterogeneity of MCAB produced increased, being 1.03-2.94 and 2.53-4.62, respectively. Therefore, ELISA overestimated MCAB concentration when the molecular integrity of the latter was compromised. The ELISA-A(280) nm ratio might hence provide a useful indicator for assessing the quality of MCAB produced. Comparison of SDS-polyacrylamide gels stained with Coomassie Brilliant Blue R and silver showed that the former correlated better with the MCAB activity stain, whereas the silver stained both the protein- and carbohydrate-rich components. Comparison of the patterns produced with these two stains might therefore offer another parameter to monitor the overall integrity of MCAB produced. Finally, the data presented have important implications on the validity of using long-term and intensive cultures for generating MCAB because such cultures would be subjected to the additive effects reported for batch and continuous modes of growth. (c) 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Development of chicken intrafusal muscle fibers

The first sign of developing intrafusal fibers in chicken leg muscles appeared on embryonic day (E) 13 when sensory axons contacted undifferentiated myotubes. In sections incubated with monoclonal antibodies against myosin heavy chains (MHC) diverse immunostaining was observed within the developing intrafusal fiber bundle. Large primary intrafusal myotubes immunostained moderately to strongly for embryonic and neonatal MHC, but they were unreactive or reacted only weakly with antibodies against slow MHC. Smaller, secondary intrafusal myotubes reacted only weakly to moderately for embryonic and neonatal MHC, but 1–2 days after their formation they reacted strongly for slow and slow-tonic MHC. In contrast to mammals, slow-tonic MHC was also observed in extrafusal fibers. Intrafusal fibers derived from primary myotubes acquired fast MHC and retained at least a moderate level of embryonic MHC. On the other hand, intrafusal fibers developing from secondary myotubes lost the embryonic and neonatal isoforms prior to hatching and became slow. Based on relative amounts of embryonic, neonatal and slow MHC future fast and slow intrafusal fibers could be first identified at E14. At the polar regions of intrafusal fibers positions of nerve endings and acetylcholinesterase activity were seen to match as early as E16. Approximately equal numbers of slow and fast intrafusal fibers formed prenatally; however, in postnatal muscle spindles fast fibers were usually in the majority, suggesting that some fibers transformed from slow to fast.     

Correlation of the expression of double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase (p68) with differentiation in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

p68 is an inducible protein kinase which is believed to be an important factor in the regulation of both viral and cellular protein synthesis. We have produced a monoclonal antibody (TJ4C4) which specifically detects p68, and which can be used to detect this antigen in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues. Because p68 plays an important role in cellular protein synthesis, we hypothesized that it may correlate with normal and neoplastic cellular differentiation. One hundred and seventy-seven head and neck squamous cell carcinoma specimens, representing 82 patients, were studied. The relative amount, frequency, and distribution of p68 expression were determined by microscopic evaluation of ABC immunoperoxidase-stained specimens. A spectrum of immunoreactivity was detected in 156 of 177 tumors, as well as within the normal squamous epithelium. Normal, actively proliferating cells, such as the basal layer of squamous epithelium, expressed comparatively little p68. Increased p68 expression was noted to parallel the morphologic features of cellular differentiation. In neoplastic tissue, p68 expression also increased with the degree of cellular differentiation. These data demonstrate that the expression of p68 parallels the degree of cellular differentiation in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck region, as well as within normal squamous mucosa. Therefore, p68 may provide an objective biologic measure of cellular differentiation which does not depend on morphologic features.     

Binding of anti-H-Y monoclonal antibodies to separated X and Y chromosome bearing porcine and bovine sperm

Studies designed to answer the question whether or not H-Y antigen is preferentially expressed on Y chromosome bearing sperm have resulted in conflicting results. This is probably due to the absence of reliable methods for estimating the percentage of X and Y chromosome bearing sperm in fractions, enriched or depleted for H-Y antigen positive sperm. In recent years a reliable method for separating X and Y chromosome bearing sperm has been published. With this method, separation is achieved by using a flow cytometer/cell sorter, which detects differences in DNA content. This technique provided the first opportunity for testing anti-H-Y antibody binding to fractions enriched for X and Y chromosme bearing sperm, directly. A total of 7 anti-H-Y monoclonal antibodies were tested using sorted porcine sperm and in one experiment also sorted bovine sperm. All monoclonal antibodies bound only a fraction of the sperm (20 to 50%). However, no difference in binding to the X and Y sperm enriched fractions was found. Therefore, the present experiments do not yield evidence that H-Y antigen is preferentially expressed in Y chromosome bearing sperm. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.